S&W 686 6" or 8 3/8" barrel?

[clanhanson]

Before my .44 mag era I had two Ruger Security Sixes, one 2 1/2" and one 6". The 2 1/2" was for carrying concealed in urban settings indoors or when gardening, which involves lots of bending over. In these situations I sometimes need to be able to put the snubby in my fanny-pack. For everything else I carried the 6" concealed, including for hiking, camping, general woods carry, home defense, walking in Corvallis day or night to go to grocery store or exercise dogs, or when driving anywhere, in which case I carried the gun on my left side. If I had been handgun hunting deer in that era I would have used the 6" for that too. A 4" would not have been workable because it wouldn't fit in my fanny-pack. And the 6" carried in an inside-the-belt slide holster much better than did a 4". (I slipped a thick cutoff sock over the gun barrel to protect my skin from the gun barrel and vice versa.)

The first time I ran into a 686 was the beginning of the end of my Security Six days. Loved the muzzle-heavy balance. And the superior SA and DA trigger pull. After I started shooting .44 mag I switched to .44 mag for my 6" or longer revolvers but retain my 686 snubby in the 2 1/2" niche.

.357 does quite well out of shorter barrels, one of the many reasons I love the caliber. .44 suffers below 4-5 inches so I too prefer longer .44 wheelguns.

 

[OldBroad44]

This one has an interesting front sight. Must be pretty old version I'm guessing.
View attachment 1825005

This Smith is designed for Silhouette shooting. The wheel under the front sight changes the elevation to match the distances shot in Silhouette competitions, up to 200 yards.

 

[OldBroad44]

If it's truly only a range gun, 8-3/8" is wonderful. Even for carry, in the right holster, there's not much difference between a 6" or 8-3/8" ...

Until you try to sit down.

 

[OldBroad44]

.357 does quite well out of shorter barrels, one of the many reasons I love the caliber. .44 suffers below 4-5 inches so I too prefer longer .44 wheelguns.

Depends on the powder. Most commercial .357 mag SD ammo assumes a 4" .357 mag revolver. And even most of those lose so much energy being fired from an under 4" barrel that you might as well be shooting a 9 mm +P. For SD use in barrels 3" and under, consider buying special ammo with fast burning powders such as those sold by Buffalo Bore. (They have Short Barrel in the name.) Much commercial .44 mag ammo seems to be designed for barrel lengths of 6" - 7 1/2".

 

[clanhanson]

Depends on the powder. Most commercial .357 mag SD ammo assumes a 4" .357 mag revolver. And even most of those lose so much energy being fired from an under 4" barrel that you might as well be shooting a 9 mm +P. For SD use in barrels 3" and under, consider buying special ammo with fast burning powders such as those sold by Buffalo Bore. (They have Short Barrel in the name.) Much commercial .44 mag ammo seems to be designed for barrel lengths of 6" - 7 1/2".

My reloads for. 357 are intended for snubbies, I agree that run-of-the-mill loads will suffer. Similar to those running a .44 with 2" barrel... might as well use 10mm at that point.

 

[OldBroad44]

That Taurus may be a larger frame, similar to that of an N-Frame S&W. (I don't know Taurus models, so I can't say authoritvly.)

The S&W x27 series are larger N-Frames in .357, which do offer an 8-round cylinder.

I had a S&W N-frame .357 for a while, a 6" Highway Patrolman. Good gun, but way heavier than necessary for shooting 6 rounds of .357. A SS version with 8 rounds would make a lot more sense.

 

[TTSX]

My 686 is a 6"er and I really like that length, my 610 is a 4" and I shoot it really well to. My Smiths in 8 3/8" are a model 529, x frame 460, and x frame 500. My favorite is my 929 with a 6" I believe but my new to me Smith 646 with about a 4" is quickly rising up in the polls for favorite, not many of those made, 300 total but this is a Performance Center that only 161 left the factory. I really like S&W revolvers, old and new I don't care, they just look right and always work.

That's a lot of numbers to keep straight

 

[ilikegunspdx]

That's a lot of numbers to keep straight

((686-4) + (686-2) + 629 + 460) *.357 = +

 

[DB is Here]

Love the 686, I have the 3" 686+ it was my edc for a while. The rosewood variant is just a beauty.

 

[WAYNO]

Until you try to sit down.

So don't sit down. Ya gotta be smarter than that. I could say the same thing about sitting down with a slung rifle. Or a sabre.

Is that what this thread was really about?

 

[nammac]

How about this one for goofy?
View attachment 1825068

Love me some Buntline…. Wyatt Earp sported a buntline…

 

[TTSX]

So don't sit down. Ya gotta be smarter than that. I could say the same thing about sitting down with a shouldered rifle.

 

[nammac]

View attachment 1825285

That's wrong in so many ways….

 

[CountryGent]

That's wrong in so many ways….

Brings new meaning to "pucker factor".

 

[OldBroad44]

.

So don't sit down. Ya gotta be smarter than that. I could say the same thing about sitting down with a shouldered rifle.

Is that what this thread was really about?

The OP defines the thread initially. Participants usually redefine it in ways that meet their own needs. This is legit. Its a conversation. Almost none of us participants wanted to define the thread as about only 6" vs 8" 686s used as range guns only. OP's stating his exact need was useful, though. It meant we made sure to cover that in the somewhat wider thread as we participants redefined it. Expanding the subject allowed us to give OP as much as we knew about his particular most narrow question while bringing in more people who know more things. And I get to learn a few things about SW 357s even tho I know a good bit about them about them already-- a nice reward for my taking time to share what I know.

As to your "I could say the same thing about sitting down with a shouldered rifle." Right. That is one reason why most of us carry handguns instead of rifles for routine SD in the Oregon woods.

 

[orygun]

I just noticed this Taurus is 8 shot. It must have scary thin cylinder walls ( or maybe the cylinder is thicker I don't know).
View attachment 1825004
This one has an interesting front sight. Must be pretty old version I'm guessing.
View attachment 1825005

That Taurus may be a larger frame, similar to that of an N-Frame S&W. (I don't know Taurus models, so I can't say authoritvly.)

The S&W x27 series are larger N-Frames in .357, which do offer an 8-round cylinder.

Yes, that Taurus is on a large frame, very similar to an N-Frame Smith.
Even with eight shots on board, I think an N-Frame is really large for a 357.
My favorite 357, and one of my favorite guns to shoot holds 5 shots and has a 3" barrel.
But this thread was about the 686.
I really liked the 686+ I used to have. I have a 686 now and would trade it in a heart beat for my old +.

I looked at current SW offerings. They have mostly 686s listed as 686 Pluses with 7 shot capacity. They have a couple listed as 686 that are 7-shot but don't have Plus in the name. They have just one model listed as a 686 with just 6 shots. I suspect they are transitioning out of 686 6 shots. They list a 7" but not an 8" at the moment.

One issue is whether to buy a used pre-lock 686 that has the firing pin on the hammer and no cheap MIM parts -- guns manufactured before the downgrade done to make the guns more affordable. Or a new or newer used gun that has seven shots.

I took a peek myself. The guns not listed as a "Plus" that are 7 shots are Performance Center guns. Some Performance Center guns are 7 shot, others 6. Out of 22 L-Frame listings (not counting the 5 shot, 44 Mag Model 69) there are 10 versions with 6 shots. None of the 586 models (blued) seem to be offered with the Plus cylinder.
When I was looking, the used ones on the market were primarily 6 shot. Must be that most who bought the 7 shot guns have held onto them.

 

[orygun]

((686-4) + (686-2) + 629 + 460) *.357 = +

Just about the only algebra that makes any sense to me!

 

[TTSX]

Just about the only algebra that makes any sense to me!

876.435 bullets and beers can either be a great day or a very bad morning

 

[orygun]

876.435 bullets and beers can either be a great day or a very bad morning

and 867-5309 is Jenny!

 

[solv3nt]

and 867-5309 is Jenny!

I'm pretty sure a call to Jenny would make for a fantastic morning.